Bad man with chance

Next year will be the Philippines’ mid-term elections and politicians are doing everything to gain more supporters even if the campaign period designated by Commission on Elections has not yet started. This is a typical political landscape in the Philippines and no one can stop them from pre-mature campaigning because of our weak laws passed by congressmen and senators, who once in their political life, experienced pre-mature campaign.

The politics here is not like the American-style of two major parties vying for every possible seat every election. Multi-party exists here because politicians have no definite platforms and always try to be in a party with large followings. So if this certain politician is in Party A since his visions for this country is similar to Party A. But Party B has more followings due to forming a coalition of different parties. Since this politician badly needs more votes, he made a choice to join to Party B even though their ideologies are opposite to his ideas. This is a normal scene here in the Philippines and we accepted the fact that this won’t be eradicated soon.

What about this nonsense coalitions every elections?

Groups join together to form a super-party to gain a majority of votes and seats. I don’t believe that they are united by a single vision but are as one to be sure that they will dominate the election. This is legal and no one can do it because it is a privilege for a two or more groups to make sure that winning the election is a sure bet for them. This type of politics has been here in the Philippines long before the Spaniards arrived in this Archipelago.

Once upon a time, long before the great Spanish Empire ruled the Philippines, this archipelago is ruled by different datus (King with cool tattoos) ruling a balangay (similar to county but smaller). They contact different balangays and datus to forge a deal from fishing to slave-trading.

Imagine you are inside a time machine. [Insert machine sound here]

Philippines. Year: 2012

This beautiful nation has a pyramid-type of political structure with the President of the Republic of the Philippines as the highest and the Captain as the leader of the Barangay (similar to county and balangay but more stupid and useless). If the President wants to ensure that his “party” will dominate the Senate by vote, he will go all the way down to a loyal Barangay Captain to ensure a win from this specific barangay. But some Captains usually don’t do this for free. There should be incentives to be given to them so that what they do as favour will benefit them.

(Let’s say) Majority of politicians in the Philippines run for office not to safeguard the rights of their constituents but to preserve the territory their family has ruled for a long period of time. That is why the only thing they can do is give relief goods even if there is no calamity and mass evacuations and pay others to do the job for them. Sick men running the Sick Man of Asia.